


The Befriending of Tony

by Violettavonviolet



Series: Tony Stark Bingo 2020 [4]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Awesome James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Child Neglect, Coffee Addict Tony Stark, Developing Friendships, Friendship, Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Howard Stark's Bad Parenting, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark at MIT, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, MIT Era, POV James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Roommates, Teenage Tony Stark, Tony Stark Bingo 2020, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:00:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24354718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violettavonviolet/pseuds/Violettavonviolet
Summary: Rhodey’s roommate has got to be crazy.That was the conclusion he had come to after the first week of living with him. Granted, he has never really met his roommate, but that just makes him even weirder.or;How Rhodey lives with the greatest of all teenagers for a year, surprisingly doesn't die and instead finds the greatest of all best friends.
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark
Series: Tony Stark Bingo 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1736956
Comments: 5
Kudos: 172
Collections: Tony Stark Bingo 2020





	The Befriending of Tony

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: teenage Tony Stark 
> 
> Card number:3132
> 
> Hey y'all I'm back with a new fanfic, and boy oh boy, this one took a while. It's longer than my last few fanfics, at least I think so and I'm not entirely sure what I did here. It's just so much less fluffy than what I expected this to be. 
> 
> Also Important note before I go on:  
> I don't live in the USA, and I never even visited them. I have absolutely no idea how a year at MIT actually is, im not sure I got the semesters right and also I don't know how the end of a year in college is soooo yeah, take this with a grain of salt. 
> 
> I never outright state how Tony's Homelife is, but I think you all get the picture. I am actually debating writing this out of Tonys POV.  
> Also, I think I never mentioned it, but I have the goal to write 50 fanfics in one year, and the year ends at the I think 19th? of June, so lets hope I make it, but im pretty positive, especially if I keep posting at my current pace. So yeah for me, well anyway, I don't want to keep you away from the fic any longer!

Rhodey’s roommate has got to be crazy.  
That was the conclusion he had come to after the first week of living with him. Granted, he has never really met his roommate, but that just makes him even weirder. When Rhodey had arrived on the move in day, his roommate had already taken the right side of the room and he was nowhere to be found. He met a guy, clad in a suit, overly polite, who was shuffling boxes in on the first day but this so called ‘Jarvis’ was the butler or something and not his actual roommate.  
Rhodey had been prepared for a rich dude, he was going to MIT, the possibility of someone with way too much money being his roommate was high, but he hadn’t expected that level of richness.  
There was no sign of his roommate until late in the evening, when his door opened and a short guy came into the room, and laid down in the other bed. It had been too late for Rhodey to form any coherent thoughts so he had just given a small ‘Hi’, he was asleep before he could hear the answer. The next morning the dude was already gone, which was astounding as he had to get up at seven for his ROTC training. 

Whenever he came back to his dorm, the other guy that was supposed to be living with him was gone. He was pretty sure that the guy came back a few times, because his side of the room continued to look different every time Rhodey went to sleep, but he had no idea what the guy actually looked like. He knew that the guy was supposed to be called Tony, but the last name had been redacted, which was weird in and of itself, Rhodey hadn’t even known that you could redact your last name. He figured it was a child of somebody famous, but he had no idea who, and really wasn’t all that interested. 

Finally after a week of living with the guy, Rhodey decided to stay in his room for a full day, just to catch his roommate. His plan didn’t work out, the entire time he was there, nobody entered the room. Maybe the dude had went home for the weekend, that was a thing rich people did, right? He gave up after that and figured, that he would eventually meet his roommate. And he did, at the end of the third week of the semester he finally met him. The dude, Tony, Rhodey mentally corrected himself, was young, and not just young but young young. He looked about ten, but Rhodey was always bad at guessing ages, so he was probably about 16 or something.  
He only met his roommate by chance one morning when the g- Tony tried to tip toe out whilst Rhodey was already awake. The following few minutes were a bit awkward, especially because Rhodey had asked him if he was the younger sibling of his roommate or something.  
Tony explained, that he was in fact an only child, and his roommate, which made both of them blush a little. Sadly, Rhodey was a little late for his morning workout so he had little time to talk to Tony, but made the kid promise to meet him afterwards.  
Needless to say, he couldn’t concentrate on his workout at all, and was actually sent back to his room early because the coach thought that he was sick or something. Not that Rhodey complained or anything. 

True to his word, the kid was still in their room when he got back. Fiddling on what seemed to be a radio? Parts were spread all around him, and he had a screwdriver behind his left ear. Tony was so deep into his work that he didn’t notice Rhodey entering until he had already sat down on the opposite bed, staring at Tony in wonder. 

Feeling that he was being watched, Tony looked up to face his roommate. He began an apology but Rhodey just shrugged. “’m not offended, dude.“ Tony got an adorable little blush on his cheeks, and crinkled his nose in shame. Pitying the clearly uncomfortable guy, Rhodey went on. “So, your are my roommate, huh?“ “Seems that way, yeah.“ An awkward silence started, but Rhodey broke it before it got too weird. “How old are you anyway, dude. You look about ten.“ After a moment of silence he added “No offense though.“

Tony started blushing again and mumbled something incomprehensible.  
“What was that?“ Rhodey asked, more amused than anything else.  
“I’m fifteen“ came the answer, even more quietly than before. Rhodey blinked a few times, trying t comprehend the information he just received, “I’m sorry you are what?“  
Tony raised an eyebrow in annoyance, “I’m fifteen dude, got a problem with that?“ Rhodey shook his head, “No, no. Really, I was just, uh, surprised. Yeah, surprised. So you are one of those genius kids?“ Tony nodded, a bit more at ease. “Yeah, I’m actually pretty surprised you didn’t know me. God knows, im often enough in the press with my old man.“  
Surprised, Rhodey looked at him again, trying to remember just who Tony was. Finally it clicked, “You are the child of Howard Stark!“, for a short moment Rhodey thought he could see something not unlike disgust in Tonys eyes before it was exchanged for a blank look. “Sure am.“ 

Sensing that the topic wasn’t the best, Rhodey changed it. “So, how come I only see you know, we’ve been living together for three weeks!“ Tony fiddled with the screwdriver behind his ear, “I dunno, I guess it’s because I’ve been spending all of my time in the labs.“ Rhodey nodded “So you haven’t actually been trying to avoid me.“  
Tony didn’t give an answer so Rhodey just ignored the obvious lie that was. “So, you’ve been in the labs? What are you studying, anyway?“ He hadn’t been prepared for the stream of words leaving the formerly quiet kid, as he excitedly told him about his current double major in mechanical engineering and physics and his plans to get a doctorate in both before studying computer science.  
The goals were ambitious but he was a fifteen year old in MIT, so Rhodey thought that he might be allowed to be a little bit ambitious. 

From then on, Rhodey saw a lot more of his roommate, even though Tony had no concept of a healthy schedule. Seriously, the guy went to bed at four in the morning, only to wake up at eight for his eight thirty class. He was pretty sure Tony only drank coffee, and maybe sometimes ate a burger but not much else. Really, what could you expect from a fifteen year old in a college environment. It got to the point were Rhodey contemplated calling Tony’s parents but he never did go through with his plan as he had the weird sense that they wouldn’t really care. He had never once seen Tony talking to either one of his parents, and he really never went home after that first Sunday two weeks after the start of the semester. 

He once thought that he was talking to his dad, Tony’s voice quivering more than once, as he told the person on the phone that he needed them, like all teenagers probably would after spending a whole year away from home, but at the end of the call, not that Rhodey was eavesdropping or anything, Tony said ‘Bye Jarvis’, so he hadn’t been talking to his parents, but to his butler.  
Rhodey never mentioned it but quietly filed it away as the emergency contact for Tony. When he asked him how he felt over the time away from his family, Tony only shrugged and told him that he had been going to a boarding school since he was five, so he was used to it. 

Rhodey didn’t comment on it, but the picture that slowly began to form in his head wasn’t pretty.  
On Thanksgiving, Rhodey went home to his family, like nearly all students that weren’t from overseas did. Well, nearly all students, because Tony didn’t go. Tony stayed for thanksgiving at MIT, even though Rhodey knew that their family could easily afford to let him fly home or even sent a chauffeur to drive him. Tony didn’t give him an explanation, besides a shrug and a ‘Nobody’s home anyway…’, it was actually extremely sad to look at, especially because Rhodey could see that it wasn’t Tony’s decision at all.  
Rhodey actually worried about his roommate, like a lot. 

Tony clearly had never been taught how to take care of himself, he was a rich fifteen year old who went to an all inclusive boarding school before MIT after all. Tony couldn’t cook, and he didn’t even eat anything healthy, he lived mostly off of ramen, burgers and fries. He sure as hell didn’t get enough sleep, the amount of times he went to bed at four or later or not at all was astronomical. Tony never drank anything but coffee, and when he had an all nighter he drank multiple triple espressos in a row.  
Additionally, he never did anything but work, either for college or for his fathers company. He seemingly had no hobbies besides engineering and he could go for days without seeing a living soul. His family called only once, because his father needed another blueprint by tomorrow even though it was already nine in the evening. The call ended in a screaming match and another all nighter in which Tony did everything his father had asked for. He had more contact with his butler than his family, and the relationship between them was clearly a paternal one. Tony had as far as Rhodey knew, no friends besides himself and regularly blew up a part of the lab for experiments. He got hurt in those explosions more than once but never went to a doctor. In conclusion, Rhodey was worried, like really fucking worried about his roommate but he couldn’t do anything, yet. 

He talked with his mother about the situation who was angry at him for not doing more for his roommate and then practically made him invite Tony for the Christmas break, if Tony planned to spent it in MIT again. 

So Rhodey came back from Thanksgiving with an invitation and a lot of cookies made for Tony.  
When Rhodey opened the door to their shared dorm, his first thought was that a bomb had exploded in the room. Tools and parts were scattered on the floor, blueprints were taped to the wall, and it stank like gasoline. In the middle of the mess was Tony, a blueprint in front of his and a bit of black something on his nose and cheek. He jumped up the minute the door opened, but had to grab onto his bed-frame to keep himself from falling.  
“Hi!“ He waved with a sheepish grin on his face, and nearly stumbled when he tried to walk towards him. “Tony! What happened?“  
“N-n-nothing… Just been working, you know how it is.“  
Tony stuttered out the first word, clearly trying to focus. Analyzing the figure before him and the state of the room, Rhodey came to a conclusion,  
“When was the last time you slept?“ Tony crinkled his nose, trying to remember what day it was.“If today’s Sunday, then two days ago.“  
Rhodey was horrified,  
“Today’s Tuesday, Tony!“ “Oh“  
Tony didn’t say anything else, and seemingly tried to go back to work, but Rhodey wasn’t having it.  
“Tony, I know I’m not your father but you need to go to sleep!“ “Just five more minutes“ the words came out slurred.  
“No!“  
He quickly swept everything of Tony’s bed and made Tony lay down.  
“You are going to sleep, now!“  
“Okay, okay. I’m just not ti-“ and Tony was knocked out, 

Content for now, Rhodey got his stuff back into his closet and started tidying up their shared living space. He shook his head more than once, as he found more and more stuff that clearly belonged somewhere else than the floor. Tony didn’t wake up for the entirety of the day, and Rhodey sure as hell didn’t wake him up. Finally the next morning came, and with it a cranky Tony who downed three expressos without saying a word first thing after waking up.  
Neither of them mentioned the night before and Rhodey honestly didn’t know if Tony even remembered it.  
It didn’t matter either way, because thankfully now Rhodey didn’t let it get to that point. He wasn’t Tonys parents and he didn’t act like it but he always made Tony eat at least something once a day and made him sleep if the 50 h awake mark was passed.  
He even got Tony to go on a walk every once in a while, and with the added time spent together their friendship grew closer. Tony was in fact a maniac, even more so than Rhodey had thought at first but he was also funny to be around and the smartest person Rhodey had ever met. They had a few classes together but not too many so e didn’t know how Tony was doing in those, but at least from what Rhodey got to see, Tony was good-Like really good, like smarter than the professor level good. In the evenings, and really in every spare second Tony had, he worked for his fathers company, pumping blueprints out left and right. It didn’t settle well for Rhodey, when he finally realized that the blueprints were weapon plans. Sometimes he really had to ask himself, just what kind of a person Howard Stark was, letting his child develop bombs that killed people. It couldn’t be healthy for Tonys psych, but he never out right mentioned that he didn’t like the work so Rhodey mostly left it alone. It was the end of November when Rhodey asked Tony if he had anything planned for Christmas break. 

Tony didn’t answer immediately, probably asking his family or something.  
The next day, he told Rhodey that no, he would probably stay in for Christmas break, with the exception of New Year's Eve, where a driver would pick him up to get him to the annual New Year's Eve Gala that his mother held. Then Rhodey tentatively brought up the option of going home with Rhodey. Tony thought about it for a second before asking shyly if Rhodey was sure that he wasn’t intruding. Rhodey told him that Mama Rhodes had asked for him specifically, so he really wasn’t unwanted.  
Rhodey had to wait another day before Tony accepted but it didn’t matter.  
Rhodey was just happy to bring his bet friend home. They packed up together and soon, their travel to Michigan began.  
They were crammed up in Rhodey’s car, and they couldn’t even change the driver every few hours because Tony was too young to drive. Additionally, Tony just had to listen to AC/DC the entire ride, which was a lot of fun for Rhodey’s sensible ears but eventually they arrived. It was snowy and already dark outside but hi home was brightly lit with Christmas decorations. Tony stared at it, as if he had never seen a house that looked so festive, and maybe he never had, it didn’t seem like the thing his parents would do.  
Tony was extremely anxious, but nobody would have noticed it if they hadn’t slept with the guy in the same room for at least a quarter of a year.  
The door was opened before Rhodey could ring, and he was greeted with a hug fro his Mama, he had missed her, even though it had been barely more than a month since he last saw her. He could smell her famous lasagna from the door, and his stomach twisted in hunger.  
After a very long hug he was let go off, in exchange for the very nervous Tony next to him.  
Before Tony could even say a word, and Rhodey knew he wanted to, he was pulled into a hug. It was sad how obviously Tony didn’t know what to do. If Rhodey thought about it, he was sure Tony hadn’t had a hug from anybody since at least august, which made everything even sadder.  
Finally his mother seemed to realize that they were still out in the cold and stepped back into the house, letting them enter.  
She mothered them the entire way to the dining room, asking him if he had lost weight, and if his studies were all going well.  
Even more than him she was asking Tony, who was clearly unsure of what to do with Rhodey’s mom. His mother could be a bit much, Rhodey thought but he was enjoying the mothering too much to say anything. He knew that his mother had spotted the dark rings under Tonys eyes, and he knew that she wasn’t pleased with the sickly color of his skin or the so very fragile stature of his friend. She had adopted him the moment she had seen Tony in his oversized MIT hoodie standing awkwardly next to Rhodey, she was just like that and really, Rhodey knew nobody that would need this kind of motherly love as much as his younger friend. 

He didn’t know how Maria Stark was in private, but he got the sense that she was not the motherly type. They greeted his father, who was already sitting at the table, and his sister who came running down the stairs the minute she heard the door open. Jeannette was a whirlwind of happiness, and Rhodey couldn’t help but smile every time he saw her.  
She was only twelve, three years younger than Tony, but he already knew that she would be a great person. Dinner went by fast, the lasagna was amazing, and the stories told from MIT made them laugh. More than once, Rhodey spotted a longing in the eyes of his best friend.  
From the way he interacted with his family, Rhodey could only conclude that family dinners weren’t the norm in the Stark Mansion. 

That evening, after Rhodey had prepared an air mattress for Tony to sleep on he asked, “Why weren’t you going home for Christmas, anyway?“ He knew that Tony didn’t want to talk about it, but he felt like it was important. “Oh you know, my mother is traveling for different charities, she’s probably going to spend Christmas in Milan, and my dads either spending it on another trip to the arctic for his searches or at some gala for the company.“  
It was accompanied by a casual shrug, as if it wasn’t important for Tony to spend his Christmas alone, or with Rhodey’s family. It made him sad, to know that neither of Tony’s parents were home for Christmas. He couldn’t imagine having a family like that.  
Rhodey didn’t mention it again, but he made extra sure that Tony was incorporated in every activity they did. They build snowmen with his sister, because somehow Tony had never built one before. They had a snowball fight and drank hot chocolate.  
They sang Christmas carols and baked cookies, and sometimes Rhodey felt like Tony had always been part of the family. Christmas morning came, and with it the presents. Rhodey hadn’t expected much, he didn’t need anything, he always received a pair of socks and a sweater and maybe a small trinket. He was much more curious about Tonys presents. He had received three packages in the mail, the day before Christmas, presumably his presents. They went down together and had breakfast before they went over to the tree and the presents. His little sister had received a few things, more than Tony or him, but she was still twelve so that was to be expected. 

His family wasn’t rich, but they weren’t poor either so, the gifts were always high quality.  
As he had predicted, he received a sweater, a pair of woolen socks and a book on astro physics and he was pretty happy with it. His sister received a sweater and a few tops, plus a pair of shoes that she had been begging for, for a few months, quickly his attention turned to Tony who had opened his presents in silence.  
One package had been an expensive watch, which Rhodey knew Tony would never wear. Tony never wore jewelry even though he owned a few pairs of watches, they were just annoying when Tony engineered, and Tony was always engineering. Next was a silky tie in a deep burgundy, and the last present was a bag of biscuits that Tony was already munching on. The gifts seemed entirely to impersonal, like something you might receive from a business partner, not your parents. Rhodey just added it to the growing list of things that seemed to be wrong in the Stark household. 

The following week passed by entirely to quickly for anybody’s liking and soon Tony packed his bags. On the last evening, his mama made another lasagna, and Tony looked so thankful it hurt. He didn’t say much but seemed to absorb the atmosphere like a sponge. Then the driver drove for, and Tony had to leave. He received a hug form everybody before he entered the car, waving as he drove away.  
Silence was a rarity in the Rhodes house, but that evening nobody said a word. Tony would be missed it was a truth universally acknowledged, and taken with silence. The last few days, that Rhodey spent with his family were nice, but Rhodey missed his friend more than ever. He saw the pictures from the New Year's Eve gala a few days later, Tony next to his parents, wearing the burgundy tie and the watch, looking impeccable but oh so out of place. Tony didn’t look happy I any of the pictures and Rhodey’s heart ached in remembrance of the lively person Tony usually was.  
He was actually glad to return to MIT, just to see his friend again.  
Tony was already there, quieter than ever before, and Rhodey decided, that maybe, just maybe, the Stark household wasn’t the best for Tony. Luckily, it didn’t take long for the two of them to get back into their rhythm. He was so happy to be back, that even the more annoying things about Tony were endearing, at least, at first. His caffein intake was still worrying and Rhodey did his best to change that as fast as possible. How Tony could get A’s in all his classes even though he spent every day working for Stark industries, he had no idea, but he was happy for him. 

Then exam weeks came, and with them the most stress, Rhodey had ever been in. He had no idea how he managed to sleep at all, with test after test and revision time in every single break. Luckily, he managed all of his exams well, or at least he hoped so. How it was may already, he may never know, but at least he was done for the year.  
Tony fretted about his exams even more than he did, if that was humanly possible. Rhodey had no idea why, especially because Tony was by far the best in every subject they had together. When he was asked about it, Tony only mumbled something about making his father proud. That raised entirely new questions as Rhodey wasn’t sure how you could even make somebody prouder than by going to MIT at fifteen. He didn’t say it but he knew that Tony was entirely to dependent on his fathers opinion, that at least had been pretty clear.  
Maybe it had something to do with his age, Rhodey figured, he was nineteen himself, and pretty independent from his parents, but you could’t expect the same thing from a teenager who would probably be in sophomore year in high school right now. 

Tony obviously aced all his classes, and Rhodey himself had mostly a’s and b’s himself. He was pretty happy with his grades and so was Tony. However, Rhodey got the sense that Tony really wasn’t happy about going home. The picture that had formed in Rhodeys head about the home life of his best friend wasn’t pretty and Rhodey could understand the dread that had to fill Tony right now. Finally, the day had come, a driver would get Tony and his stuff to the nearest airport, flying home to the mansion in New York. Rhodey had asked, if somebody would be waiting for him there, but Tony had shook his head.  
His father was in Tokyo doing business and his mother was currently in Monaco for a gala. Rhodey wanted nothing more than to hug Tony, until all the pain and hurt in his eyes vanished, to hide Tony away from the big bad world, but at the end o the day, he was only a freshman in college, he had no power over Tony and he couldn’t do a thing.  
So, very reluctantly, Rhodey hugged his best friend for the last time until at least July, and made him promise to write and call as often as humanly possible. He helped Tony get his bags down, where a driver was already waiting, tapping one foot on the ground impatiently. 

“I’ll always be there for you, Tones. Never forget that!“ Rhodey said, and felt a tear form in his eye.  
“I’ll call you the minute I’m home Honeybear, pinky promise!“  
Tony answered overly cheerly, but his eyes betrayed the act.  
Neither of them wanted Tony to go home, but it had to happen. Tony entered the car as the motor started, and Rhodey could do nothing but wave as the car drove away to a summer full of longing and loneliness. 

There was always next year.

**Author's Note:**

> This is it! Did you like it? Any additional thoughts or comments? Then pls leave a comment down below, I crave human interaction during quarantine! Also, let me know if you are interested in a sequel from Tony's pov!  
> I will post another fanfic on Friday, as always,  
> Bye,  
> Vio


End file.
